In a wide-open 2025 NFL Draft quarterback class, could Arizona’s Noah Fifita make some noise? Fifita has been productive in years past, and he’s following that example in 2024.
While Fifita’s profile might not hold up as strong through the projective elements of NFL Draft evaluation, he might just have the gamer mentality to beat the odds.
Noah Fifita’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’10”
- Weight: 195 pounds
- Position: Quarterback
- School: Arizona
- Current Year: Redshirt Sophomore
The situation is ripe for a wild card to emerge at QB in the 2025 NFL Draft. And it’s not out of the question that Fifita could be that signal-caller.
Fifita comes from a football family, and football was a big part of his life from the onset. He progressed from youth league to varsity at Servite High School in Huntington Beach, Calif. His current Arizona teammate and potential first-round wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan, was with him all along the way.
By the end of his high school career, Fifita monopolized Servite High’s career passing records, and he was able to participate in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl. He signed with the Arizona Wildcats as a three-star recruit and spent the 2022 season as a backup.
Retaining his redshirt in 2022, Fifita appeared primed to return as a backup in 2023. But when Jayden de Laura went down with an injury early in the season, Fifita took the starting job — and he never gave it back.
Playing in 12 games with nine starts, Fifita completed 241 of 333 pass attempts (72.4%) for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. For his production, he was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Thus far in 2024, playing in the Big 12, Fifita’s gaudy numbers have only extended. Through two games as of this update, he’s thrown for 595 yards, five touchdowns, and two picks.
Arizona is ranked in large part due to Fifita and McMillan, and Fifita’s steadiness as a signal-caller has proven paramount.
Listening to him speak, it’s clear Fifita has a passion for the game, and he prides himself on his preparation. But does he have the talent to take his passion to the professional stage?
Fifita’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Agile, twitched-up mover who’s light on his feet and slippery in contact situations.
- Has enough arm strength to channel solid velocity in the short and intermediate ranges.
- Has the requisite arm elasticity to maintain velocity while operating off-platform.
- Eyes stay up off script, and is potent as an off-platform QB with balance and elasticity.
- Able to use obtuse and sidearm throwing angles to widen windows within the pocket.
- Can operate off play-action fakes and drive velocity past underneath defenders.
- Has a gamer’s mentality and is crafty and creative as a scramble drill thrower.
- Has incredibly clean dropback footwork and mechanics, consistently loading his hips.
- Reliably accurate passer with precise front foot placement and routinely level shoulders.
- Has shown he can anticipate WRs breaking open over the middle of the field.
- Can lead WRs away from defenders and, according to RAC, on short rhythm passes.
- Always seems prepared for what defenses give him and plays with an air of calm.
- Good decision-maker who takes what’s given but rarely puts the ball in harm’s way.
- Has the wherewithal to throw the ball away when he’s worked into a corner.
- Highly-regarded worker and leader who took command as a redshirt freshman in 2023.
Weaknesses
- Is notably undersized for the QB position, with below-average height and weight.
- Height sometimes causes his field of vision to be blocked, inducing hesitation.
- Isn’t an elite size-adjusted athlete, which limits creation capacity and dynamic upside.
- Quick but not fast, and is used very sparingly as a designed carry threat.
- Arm strength, while passable, won’t be a surefire strength at the NFL level.
- Velocity often wanes in the deep range, giving defenders a chance to close ground.
- Obtuse release sometimes brings too much air beneath the ball, causing high misses.
- Is sometimes drifting at his launch point, which can skew passes past their targets.
- At times, can better sense backside pressure and quicken his internal clock.
- Is sometimes late to recognize interior rushers breaking free, delaying his response.
- Can be more consistent in anticipating breaks as the margin for error will be slim in the NFL.
- Eyes sometimes idle on initial reads, keying in defenders and allowing them to close in.
- Still growing as an independent processor and doesn’t often displace DBs with his eyes.
- Stimuli on progressions from read-to-read can be faster and more consistent.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Fifita grades out as an early-to-mid Day 3 prospect on my board.
Being only a redshirt sophomore, there’s room for Fifita to keep growing, but his limited physical ability also puts him in danger of leveling out as a mid-round prospect.
Listed at 5’10”, 195 pounds, Fifita is visibly undersized for the quarterback position, which complicates his evaluation. A natural parallel to make is Bryce Young, who went first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft cycle at just 5’10”, 204 pounds.
That said, Young was a better athlete, a better processor, and a more dynamic, consistent, and instinctive creative force than Fifita. And there’s an argument to be made that Young had a slightly stronger arm, as well.
Fifita does have quite a few things going for him. He has an above-average arm for his size, as well as great arm elasticity and angle freedom. And for a 21-year-old passer, his mechanical feel is extraordinary, and that translates to very good general accuracy.
However, the over-arching concern for Fifita is that his physical profile is just average at best. That limits his developmental upside. At the moment, he’s not adept enough as a processor to counteract that. That can change with more experience, but Fifita’s margin for error is thinner with non-elite tools.
If the NFL Draft were today, Fifita would have a chance to be drafted. He’s a gamer with impressive mechanical congruence and accuracy and the composure to be a solid backup or spot starter.
To have a chance at becoming a starter, however, more development is required.